Much of western-central Louisiana to north Louisiana remain at an unusually high risk for tornadoes, hail, strong winds and street flooding as super cells swing from Texas to Mississippi.

South Louisiana continues to prepare for the potential for severe weather overnight, but deadly storms have already hit other portions of the state.

A 38-year-old mother and her 3-year-old daughter were killed inside of their trailer in Breaux Bridge, which is between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. The St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Francine Gotch and her daughter, Neville Alexander. The National Weather Service confirmed an EF1 tornado touched down there around 9:30 a.m.

Further west, in Lafayette, hail fell with sheets of rain.

In central Louisiana, a tornado emergency was issued for Alexandria Saturday afternoon as a large and potentially dangerous tornado was reported moving toward the city. The Alexandria Police Department said no one was hurt. Roof damage and downed trees were reported by the National Weather Service.

In north Louisiana, fire fighters in Shreveport are monitoring a massive tanker fire after it was struck by lightning.

Because of the continued high-risk of tornadoes across the state, the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness activated its Crisis Action Team.

“The National Weather Service has issued a high risk alert for central and north Louisiana. This is the highest level of warning that the National Weather Service issues,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “It is an extremely rare classification and means that the state could very well experience extremely high winds, tornadoes, hail and flooding just to name a few perils.”

Much of the state is under weather advisories through Monday morning. Edwards called the storms a “statewide weather event” and advised residents to keep their cellphones charged and close to them overnight in case an alert is issued in their area.

“Whether tornadic or not, straight-line wind speeds could reach 70-80 mph in this weather event and that is the same wind speed as you would expect with a Category 2 hurricane,” Edwards said.

In the case of a tornado warning, Edwards said people should move to an interior room, such as a bathroom and stay away from windows. He said to check on the elderly who may not be aware of the threat or be able to seek shelter, and for people living in trailer homes, to spend the night with a friend or relative who does not live in a trailer home. Edwards also reminded drivers to stay in their car if a power line were to fall on the car and not to drive over downed power lines.

For more emergency preparedness information, visit gohsep.la.gov.

In New Orleans, the Sewerage and Water Board said all of the city's 24 pumping stations are operational and fully manned tonight, as the city remains under a flash-flood watch through Monday afternoon.

School closures will be announced on school websites and locally on WDSU, as they are received.